Recording system



June 24, 1952 J. M. BRADY RECORDING SYSTEM Filed May 1, 1951 FIG] M l! w H W .I M 5355:5555 u a w i 3 n ll w 0 w w w 4 U v 7 5:: u

INVEN TOR.

JAMES M. BRADY Patented June 24, 1952 RECORDING SYSTEM James M. Brady, West Long Branch, N. J., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Application May 1, 1951, Serial No. 224,017

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 4 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to recording systems and more particularly to recording systems using inked thread or wire as the recording elements;

The object of this invention is to provide a simplified recording unit for recording a plurality of variables on the same time axis in the form of minute points on a record receiving surface wherein all variables can utilize the same range on the receiving surface at the same time.

Known recording units (such as that described in copending application Ser. No. 199,120) utilize the fundamental conception of data actuated filaments moving in diiierent planes parallel to a recording surface in combination with a tapper bar which periodically strikes the filaments causing them to contact a record receiving surface. However, such known recording units employ a complex filament carrying mechanism which moves the entire filament in response to data changes. A further object of this invention is to overcome the above and related disadvantages. Simplification of the filament carrying mechanisms is accomplished by a new and novel method of causing data actuated movement of record producing filaments over the record receiving surface. The method employed in this invention accomplishes data actuated movement of only one end of the record producing filament while the other end of the record producing filament is held fixed in contradistinction to the complete filament movement characteristic of known systems.

A further object of this invention is to provide a more compact recorder which minimizes the unit volume required per variable recorded. The use of this invention decreases the necessary physical size of the filament carrying carriages thus accomplishing this object.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several views, and wherein Fig. 1 is a side view illustrating a form of mechanism whereby the invention may be carried out; Fig. 2 is a top view, partially broken away, which is taken through the points A, B, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an amplified view of a filament carriage broken away through its center.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the instrument is shown enclosed within a supporting frame l3 (broken away) on which the operating mechanism is mounted. Frame ||l contains bearings in which the rotary shafts I2, l4, l5, I6 and I1 are journaled. Fixed shafts I3, I 8 and I9 are rigidly secured to the frame. Motors 20, 2|, 22, 23 and 24 transmit power to said rotary shafts through gear trains 25, 26, 21, 28 and 29, re-- spectively. Rotary shafts I4 and I6 are threaded throughout their axial length and are in continuous engagement with the threaded bore of carriages 33 and 3|, respectively. As shafts I4 and it are rotated by motors 2| and 22, said threaded engagement causes carriages 30 and 3| to move along shafts I4 and I6, respectively, in a direction determined by the shaft rotation. Carriages 30 and 3| are provided with bobbin type filament carrying devices 32 and 33 which are free to rotate about the shafts l6 and I4, respectively, and are preferably physically connected to said carriages by spring friction clips 34 and 35 which retard the angular motion of said carrying devices, in addition to holding them in fixed position relative to the carriages 3| and 30. impregnated filaments 36 and 31 are suspended from the carrying devices 32 and 33 through positioning orifices 38 and 39 in flanges 40 and 4|, which fix the position of one end of the operative portion of each filament 36 and 31 relative to each carriage 3| and 30, respectively, so that a change of position of carriages 3| and 3!) along shafts l6 and M will cause a proportional change in position of filaments 36 and 31 along the recording surface of cylinder 42. The filaments 36 and 31 are passed through small positioning orifices in wall 43, which fix the position of the other end of the operative portions of filaments 30 and 31 relative to the recording surface 42, thence they are passed through spring members 44 and 45 which apply tension to said filaments and furnish elasticity to the filament system and finally the filaments 36 and 31 are connected to take up storage devices 46 and 41 which are rigidly connected to rotating shaft I2.

A tapper bar 48 of conventional design is connected to arms 49 which pivot about shaft [8. Springs 50 are connected on one end of the supporting shaft 9 and on the other end to arms 49. Eccentric cams 5| are rigidly mounted on rotatable shaft ll, said cams being in engagement with arms 19 at the ends of said arms not attached to tapper bar 48. Tapper bar 48 is provided with a knife edge 52, so that as said knife edge is pressed against filaments 3'6 and 31 an impression is made against a record receiving means 42 which is a cylinder moved at constant speed by motor 20 and gear train 25.

In the operation of the recording device, input data is fed to data responsive motors 2| and 22 which transmit power through gear trains 26 and 21 to shafts i6 and [4, respectively. Shafts l6 and [4 turn clockwise or counterclockwise in response to the transmitted power impulses causing lateral movement of carriages 3| and 30, because of their threaded engagement therewith causing the filaments 36 and 31 to assume different lateral positions relative. to the. recording means 42. Coincident with this lateral positioning of filaments 36 and 31, motor 24, through gear train 28, causes shaft I2 and, consequently, storage devices 46 and 41, to rotate, which causes filaments 36 and 31 to be taken up on said storage devices. The purpose in having. the filament. so taken up is to prevent its wearing out'as thetapper bar 48 taps against the filaments.

A motor 23 operates through gear train 28 to rotate shaft [1, thereby driving cam in' a counter-clockwise direction. Intermittent action of the tapper bar 48 is effected in the following manner; 1 and 2, the tapper bar is engaged with the curved outer portion of cam 5|, and as shaft El rotates, arm 49 actuated by spring 56 pivots about shaft IS causing the tapper bar to press against filaments 36 and 31, located between it cylinder; and, because the springs 50 urge arm 19 into engagement with cams 5!, during rotation of cams 5|, the arms 49 raise and lower tapper bar 48 while pivoting about shaft H3. The end result is that the tapper bar 48 uniformly and intermittently presses the filaments against the recording cylinder. When the tapper bar 48 is pressed against the recording cylinder 42 it has carried forward to the recording cylinder 42 both filaments 36 and 31, thereby making marks on the recording cylinder which are the area of the intersection of the filament and the knife edge 52 of the tapper bar in size. The recording cylinder 42 is rotated at a uniform rate and as the tapper bar 48 taps against it, dots are recorded on the moving cylinder sur-- face. The rate of rotation of the cylinder depends on the time axis which is desired. The input data from motors 2| and 22 provide amplitude information to be recorded on the cylin der, whereas the time axis against which this information is plotted, in a rectangular coordinate system, is determined by the speed of the cylinder rotation.

In order to distinguish between the two sets of data which are simultaneously recorded, filament 36 may be impregnated with a different color from 31, so that one recording may be, say, in green and the other in, say, red. Any number of different colors may be used depending upon the number of carriages.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In the position shown in Figs.

1. In a recording instrument having moving record receiving means, the combination comprising fixed means for holding one end of all of a plurality of impregnated filaments, a plurality of impregnated filaments having one end slidably: engaging said fixed means, and data actuated means connected to the other end of each of said filaments for moving each of the said other ends of the said filaments transverse to the direction of movement of said record receiving means and substantially parallel to the face off said record receiving means, said means for moving said. filaments being off-set from one another to allow the said filaments to pass one another.

2. In a recording instrument having moving record receiving means, the combination comprising. a, plurality of impregnated filaments, fixed means for slidably engaging one end of the operative portion of all of said plurality of impregnated filaments, a plurality of data actuated means respectivelyconnected to the other operative ends of each of said filaments for moving said filaments transverse to the direction of movement of said record receiving means and substantially parallel to the face of said record receiving means, said plurality of means for moving said filaments being off-set from one another to allow said filaments to pass one another, a plurality of filament storage devices free. to permit withdrawal of filament therefrom and having pressure type retarding devices mounted thereupon for restricting the withdrawal of filament. therefrom, each of said storage. devices being respectively mounted on said means for moving said plurality of filaments. a plurality of actuating means respectively connected to. said filament storage devices for drawing said filaments through said fixed means, and means connected to said filaments for imparting tension to the operative portions thereof.

3. A data recorder for simultaneously plotting a time graph for each of a plurality of received signals comprising a record surface arranged to move linearly with time, a plurality of actuating elements one for each received signal, arranged to move in lines parallel to said surface and transverse to the motion thereof, each in accordance with the amplitude of a signal, each of said lines of motion being differently spaced from said surface, a correspond ing plurality of stringlike printing elements all having one end slidably engaged at a center point and the other end connected to a one of said actuating elements, and means compris ing a printer bar for simultaneously and recurrently striking all of said printing elements against said surface in a line transverse to said motion of said surface periodically to record an element of said graph.

4. A recording instrument. as described in claim 3, in which said stringlike printing ele ments are impregnated with various colors so that the recording for each of said elements is in a different color.

JANCES M. BRADY.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Darwin July 31, 1906 Number 

